Oscar Stew

Oh the pain! This is (almost) the last post of the summer 2010. Wait, didn’t summer end 5 days ago? Well yes, but this is a summer-vacation-recap post.  And if, in some small way, these stories prevent snow on Halloween, you’ll know who to thank.

In July we headed to Vernal so we could spend a week camping in Ashley National Forest. Are we there yet?

Yup! Looks like we have arrived! Pine tree aroma, beautiful mountain meadows…

…and plenty of wildlife! Let’s get this party started!

911 what’s your emergency?

Ro-chuck thought that she’d lend a hand in the gathering of firewood. That’s a nice stem of grass she’s got there!

It looks like the stem is what did the trick. Nice blaze!

Drew & Brinley, snug as bugs in rugs. More like snug with bugs…

Welcome to the Uinta Arena Octagon for UFC 2¼! In the polka dot corner is Rowan “Rampage…” ok nevermind. You’re cute Rowan but it’s time to go to sleep. Nigh-Night!

So E, how was your first night in the outdoor woods? Lookin’ bright-eyed, not so sure about bushy-tailed. Quit yer loungin’, we got a big day planned!

Time to get the blood flowing. Nothing warms you up like pumping some plastic buoys, eh Emily?

Looks like the Scoob is on the receiving end of this vigorous workout. Don’t get scared Drew, it’s just a game!

Your aim is all off man! Try opening your eyes!

Drew can do it, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, make him try again! Gooooo Drew!

He’s still closing his eyes, but looks like he’s got it down now. Is a helmet really required to play this game?

Bin-bob wasn’t interested in games, she was too busy exercising the mind.

Just kiddin’. By the afternoon this princess had messed up her hair and gotten all dirty…on purpose!

Naptime wasn’t happenin’ in the hot tent. But there were way too many distractions outside too…

So when Uncle Aric rolled into camp Rowan got to enjoy chillin’ with Daddy while he and Aric had an Ipod battle in the car. Rock on! 

No trick photography here; nature knows teeter-totters.

Nature also knows bruises and broken bones. Hold on tight! That’s a rodeo totter!

Ok Rowan’s not looking let’s jump on the 4-wheelers and hit the trail!

The girls are back and as dirty as they can get. The boys in the middle don’t look so convinced…

After a hard day’s fun it’s time to bundle up for the night. Hey Aric this would be a lot easier if you would stop distracting Eleanor! I mean Ryan. Who we talkin’ about?

Let’s see, are we on step 3 or step 5? Men…

So you might assume that Drew wanted a chance to drive a 4-wheeler. You’d be right, but how much training do you think he needed?

This boy is a natural born offroader! He was the princess’ personal chauffeur that same afternoon!

Mallow en fuego! It’s the only way to dine…

Look ma no hands! Drew & Brinley rode around the campsite area for over an hour on the biggest power-wheels ever!

Hey Drew, I dare you to eat him!

C’mon dude, you can do it. Just hork it down like Roastie eats pretzels.

Get your game face on! You may also want to wear a faceshield, as Ole Cheesemaker is throwin’ it down today!

So remember that part where I said we got really dirty? Yeah…no. It rained once or twice while we were up there. Ok it rained everyday. But on one of our adventures we managed to find a lot of puddles…

And then Kristy, Emily, Aric, and Kelsey went to the spa.

They got the “helmet to toe” treatment…

Rowan wanted to go for a mud bath too. Eleanor doesn’t look excited about this…

Sorry Rowan, no amount of kisses will change her mind…

But those sure look like some happy campers to me! What this really looks like is an Orbit gum commercial…Fabulous!

Hurry quick, Rowan isn’t looking! Let’s go do that again!

It’s been a busy and productive summer. In two days we officially welcome autumn. Sad, is an understatement. But we are looking forward to a change of pace; hoping things will slow down a little so we can enjoy being home a little more. The last few weeks have been spent in the kitchen. Painting, cooking, jamming, pureeing, preserving, pickling…sweating. And more…

We’ve been trying to cut down on our electricity bill…84 isn’t even the record. It was 87 in the house one day…that’s enough to make anyone go postal!

On hot days like that we leave the house and do something productive….hoping that somehow the house might be cooler when we return.

We knew our home garden wasn’t big enough to produce enough for our growing family, so we joined a community garden to satisfy our overwhelming desire for fresh food… 

No matter the location Brinley is all smiles while raking in the bounty from a hot summer’s work.

And when the food looks this good, who can resist smiling?

We also hit up farmer’s markets and prowled around for anything that could be mashed or pureed into a masterpiece for Eleanor.

Are carrots and green beans not what makes your heart pound?

Maybe we should get a scantily-clad supermodel to spice things up…still not working for ya?

Ole Moose Tooth found his own unique way to enjoy the fresh corn from the farmer’s market… Darn those missing teeth!

Mmmmm…those green beans are mighty tasty!! If her mouth was open any bigger daddy might fall in!

This whole solid foods thing is pretty sweet eh Ella-toot? That is in no way a reference to the happenings in her digestive tract…

We dropped the bigs off at school one morning and took the littles to the patch for some worry-free picking.

Ro-dog caught on quickly and only picked the juiciest berries.

By the time we hit the raspberry bushes it was an old hat for this little picker.

You can’t. You just can’t walk through the Berry Patch without giving in to the temptation to taste at least one. Or 12. Or…

Nothing beats Berry Patch berries. We made plenty of ice cream, jam, and even enjoyed them in our salad…

 

Grandma & Grandpa J visited a few weeks ago. We paused our painting projects and enjoyed having them with us for a few days.

I begged my mom to come out and teach me the (lost) art of bottling fresh produce.  Thanks Ellie for sanitizing those jar lids for us! Who needs a dishwasher! Num num!

 

Welcome to the Canning Show. The younger audience members made sure to fill their popcorn bowls before taking their seats.

The ingredients are coming together now. These pickles are going to be gooooood!…in 6-8 weeks.

I can still smell the fresh dill on my hands. I’m dying to crack open a bottle…

Canning was a bit of a challenge with 7 kids underfoot. And that’s not counting pesky husbands. Hey Rowan you got a little dill stuck in your teeth…uh, hold up!!  Are you really using the cleaning toothbrush?!

Well, I guess we wouldn’t want to discourage her from learning how to brush her own teeth, but her friend Kyrie doesn’t seem too impressed… At least we only use that toothbrush for cleaning grout.

Behold: Yummy! But don’t touch that remote! We haven’t even gotten to the fruit yet!

 

Ok, short commercial break. This 3 hour period of undisturbed canning has been brought to you by Moen faucets and Great Value ice cream sandwiches…

Seems everybody is working up an appetite. We had to delegate some tasks to other capable members of the cast. Notice also that the crazy blue wall is gone. Now it’s the crazy green wall which is Nuclear Granny Smith in the late afternoon/evening. At any other time of the day it’s a tame-ish creamy apple green.

Remember when you got this excited about applesauce?

Or oatmeal?

Canning 2010 has been a colorful and tasty success! Thanks to Grandma J and Staci for all of your help & support.

Time to get cleaned up and get moving on the next project. Hey Rowan, you still look like a table surfer!

Because of the busy-ness in the kitchen, meal time has gotten a little…uh…interesting. We’ve been picnicking on the floor or in the yard a few times a week. At least the kids think it’s great.

Eleanor and I have been working on this quilt for months. We make a pretty good team. I sew, she makes sure the fabric tastes just right.

Imagine that any hobby you choose to pursue, that your children would pursue it also. Drew’s working on his “quilt sandwich” so he can quilt and bind.

 

Brinley got tired of taking alien and rocket ship napkins in her school lunch and decided to take matters into her own hands. And if there were to be a dispute over the ownership of these napkins (yeah right!), Binnie made sure that she would win.

Now it’s quiet, the kids are in bed, and I can whip out the sharp tools and get down to business.

The most important project is still in the works. Eleanor is ready to size up to mediums, so that means game on! Developing my own pattern is the mission…

 

The learning curve is steep here. Way to master the pincer grasp Ella-munch!

Ok, now you’re just showing off. We already know how well you can blow that horn.

Speaking of showing off, Brinley The Scholar’s first homework assignment was creating a scrapbook page that explained all about her. Nice writing Binnie!

What better way to cap off Household Engineering Month than taking a ride in Dinosaur Grandpa & Grandma’s RV? (dinosaur because they found dinosaur tracks, not because they are prehistoric in age) Brinley certainly didn’t think it was very exciting…

Maybe it was the RV that was exciting. Maybe it was that they were taking us out to Chick-Fil-A. Maybe it was being close to family we hadn’t seen in a while. Maybe it was all of the above…

Maybe it was the candy! Well, Eleanor is the only one not smiling! Thanks Dino-Grandpa & Grandma! You guys are tops!

Ladies & gentlemen this is your captain speaking. I invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy your flight!  If you are not able to securely fasten your own seatbelt, please exit the aircraft immediately and crawl back under the rock from whence you came. Our in-flight movie, “The 3 Hooligans”, can be found on channel 5. Thanks again for choosing OscarStew Airways…

Even though we’re still in a holding pattern here in St. George, we’ve settled in to our routine and are making the best of our time with family & friends. The kids are doing well, Amy is deep into the uncomfortable third trimester, and I’ve mastered the two-flight commute to Denver. What we haven’t mastered is keeping this stew warm. Sorry, we’ll try to do better. On with the show!

I’m not the only one doing the high flying these days. Case in point:

Tarzan & Jane swung from those vines until those 30 year-old vines could swing no more.

So, Grandpa J and I hauled the monkeys down to the hardware store and had them choose what color rope they wanted for their new swings. I made the choice easy: Lightning McQueen Red or Cinderella Blue? Works every time.

 

I didn’t even have the ladder down yet and this test pilot was already pushing the limits.

Once it was certified by Drew, Rowan wanted to take it for a spin with Aunt Kristy. Check out the tongue action! Air Rowan!

Hey Rowan, what’s the best treat at Grandma’s house?

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Nothing beats an orange fresh from the tree. nothing.

Enough lounging around in the sun Ro-Dog, we got Christmas lights to hang. Layne & Shauna were great judges on proper light placement. Judgment may have been lacking on that sweater however…

Okay, so there’s a lot going on here. The green leaf-eating machine is doing its job while Grandpa does two jobs, the kids are doing their jobs, and the dog…well, who knows what he’s up to, but the shock collar is doing its job!

Alright kids Grandpa and I have made a big effort to put all the leaves in a nice neat pile in the corner of the yard. Now drive Grandpa nuts and make a huge mess…GO!

And we’re off to a great start!

Binnie the Leaf Witch is hiding in there somewhere. Be careful you don’t get too close!

You’ve heard of snownados, but the Leaf Witch can conjure up leafnados!

Or maybe she just didn’t like me calling her Leaf Witch. Ok Binnie you’re the Leaf Fairy! Is that better?!

Ok ok, the leaves are a big mess again. You kids go do something fast and risky. How about high-speed wiggle racing? Most excellent!

There have been a couple of days where the temperature has dipped into the low 40’s (give us a break, we left our parkas in Colorado!), so not all the fun happens outside. Things get crazy pretty quick inside the house, like when Grandpa unknowingly put Ro’s diaper on backwards…

…Or when this one dirties her high chair in more than one way.

Who would Drew and Brinley be if they didn’t exhaust a year’s supply of tape, glue and construction paper in just a few hours? Not my kids that’s for sure.

Alright…back outside. Hey Scoob, Daddy will now give you a rundown on proper leaf-diving technique…

 

 

 

Attempt #1: Plant the foot and launch!

Catastrophic failure! Brace for impact! Doh!

 

Attempt #2: Critical speed reached, prepare for liftoff!

 

Apparently Drew was just being nice to me. It seems he has already mastered levitation. Hummm…Hummm…

While raking the leaves back into the pile I found this rare beauty. Nice ‘stache!